We left Japan yesterday around 4pm and arrived, still Monday, in San Francisco around 11am. Even if we had found a direct flight from Tokyo to Buenos Aires, I don’t think we would have taken it, especially since it is really great that we can have a little bit of time at home to repack. On the list of things to do: pack fleece jackets, buy new travel towels (after several washings in a row we’ve come to the conclusion that their lifetime is over and that they aren’t dirty, they just smell bad), buy REAL water purification drops, pick up our new Acer Aspireone so that Matt doesn’t have to lug around and protect our larger laptop plus pelican case, see Joylani’s mom (who happens to also have a day layover in SF), aunt, uncle, and cousins along with Matt’s parents and meet his grandparents for dinner. Also: restock on granola bars (essential for long flights and layovers), transfer all data to new computer, wash clothes, and try to get a good night’s sleep. Somehow, miraculously, and thanks to the help of our parents, we were able to accomplish everything except for the part about getting a good night’s sleep. It was good sleep, but there were only about three hours of it. Poor Matt had a little bit more work to do than he figured for setting up the new laptop, and repacking was slow going for me, especially since I pooped out just before dinner, despite having several more hours of work to do.  On the bright side, it was fun to have a quick visit with our families and helpful to switch out some of our gear. I must admit, though, that it was a bit of a teaser to be home again only to have leave tomorrow morning. However, we both don’t feel quite “ready†(whatever that means) to come back just yet. So a few more months on the road it is. South America—here we come!
Layover at Home
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Last night, my dad asked me if I was ready to get back on the road again. I told him that I was starting to stress. I explained that its always a bit stressful going to a new place, but especially so when you fly in. Unlike train stations and long-distance bus stations, airports are often dozens of miles outside of their namesake city. So not only do you land in a totally new place, but you must immediately find transportation to take you a relatively great distance to a specified place, often at a significant cost. Think about how you would get from the closest airport to your home if you were a foreign backpacker? So we must know exactly where we’re staying ahead of time and how to get there. Additionally, flying days are often long days due to check-in, waiting, and connecting, not to mention flight time. Such will be the case when we arrive in Seoul, two days after departing San Francisco. We’re going to be tired and grumpy. In short, I told my dad that my stress would continue until we are in a hotel in Seoul. Later, at dinner, someone asked Joylani if she’s stressed out about leaving. She said, “Yea, and I will be until we find a hotel in Seoul.†We were both beginning to get those familiar feelings and naturally began to anticipate the things we’ve been conditioned to over the past year. And so the resumption of our journey begins. Presently midair somewhere between our connecting cities of Vancouver and Beijing, we are back practicing our old travel discipline: research. Reading our guidebook and studying the web pages I downloaded, in hopes of figuring out where to stay in Seoul and how to get there from the airport. Here we go, again 